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Historic (black history) YMCA; Wilt Chamberlain played here.

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Historic (black history) YMCA; Wilt Chamberlain played here.

This modern building has an illustrious past, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/16/14, at pp. N1, N5. According to the Inquirer: It was founded in the 19th century by a group of black Philadelphians, among them William Still, widely considered the father of the Underground Railroad. (He helped 629 slaves to freedom.) The founding meeting of the Y was at Still's house on June 26, 1889, with Christopher Perry Jr., founder of the Philadelphia Tribune, and two AME bishops among those in attendance. By 1914, a four-story building was dedicated to the spiritual, mental, and physical health of 'Negro men and boys.' Among the men who've spent countless hours there: NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain.